Tom Hardy to Star as Eddie Brock in Sony's VENOM with Ruben Fleischer to Direct

Sony has ensnared a star and director for its Spider-Man offshoot, Venom.

Tom Hardy, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work in The Revenant, is in final negotiations to star in Venom, while Ruben Fleischer, best known for directing Zombieland, is final negotiations to helm the movie project centering on one of Spider-Man’s signature villains.

The project is one of Sony’s top priorities and the studio is not wasting time as the movie is set to open Oct. 5, 2018.

Venom is to usher in a host of movies from Sony's Marvel and Spider-Man-based universe of characters. Sony is rebooting its Marvel-based slate with this summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and Venom is a key title in its slate. The studio is also developing a Silver Sable/Black Cat project among other characters from the Spider-Man stable.

Venom has been one of Marvel’s top villains and a Spider-Man fixture since he was introduced in 1988, created by writer David Michelinie and artists Todd McFarlane and Mike Zeck. The character is an alien symbiote that needs a human host to survive. In return, the alien vests its victim with incredible powers. He made his first big-screen appearance in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 and was portrayed by Topher Grace.

Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, the latter of whom worked on 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, wrote the script for Venom. Plot details are being kept in the black but Hardy, who is said to be a Venom fan, will play Eddie Brock, the character who first became Venom.

Sony Reportedly Developing VENOM as R-Rated Start to Their Own Marvel Universe

Earlier in March, Sony Pictures gave Venom a release date, and now rumors suggest that the film will be the start of something potentially much bigger.

According to a new rumor coming out from Collider, Venom is being developed with the intent of the film earning an R-rating and for the film to launch a new shared Marvel Universe separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Sony’s Marvel Universe will not be connected to the MCU in any way and the planned Venom and Black Cat and Silver Sable films are all part of Sony’s own shared universe, not spin-offs of any existing films. Marvel’s Kevin Feige has nothing to do with these films; it’s Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group, who’s calling the shots.

Collider's report makes it clear that the announcement of Venom‘s release date indicates that the execs are happy with the script and the new direction they’re embarking on, but with no director set for either film, obviously things can still change since all of the announced films are still in development.

According to industry casting website MyEntertainmentWorld, Venom will enter production in the fall of 2017, about one year before its release.

Another interesting tidbit from the listing is that the Venom movie is listed as an "Action/Horror/Sci-Fi" movie, an interesting mix for a superhero movie.

The Marvel universe is expanding yet again, but this time in an unexpected way. It seems the Spider-Man universe will spawn a new solo Venom film, which has now been slated for October 5, 2018.

The tweet came from Exhibitor Relations, saying "Watch out, Spider-man. VENOM is now part of the release calendar web as Sony has slated the Spidey spinoff for October 5, 2018."

According to reports, it looks like Alex Kurtzman will be directing the film. Fans will know the director from his work on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and The Mummy.

Here’s what Exhibitor Relations had to say about the director:

“Alex Kurtzman, writer of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 and director of THE MUMMY reboot will be at the helm of Sony's VENOM.”

The project was teased before in the Sony emails, but plans had moved away from that at some point. Now it seems the character is once again going to be a big part of the universe.

[Update: According to THR, Venom has no director yet, but does have a script: Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, the latter who worked on 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, recently turned in a draft. (Dante Harper wrote a previous draft.)]

A part of me died watching Eric Foreman play Venom. I won't get my expectations up for this movie and expect the rest of me to die when this is released. Venom is my all time favorite comic book villain. I just have this gut feeling this will end bad. Especially without Marvel.

Huge fan. I loved the comics. Venom is bad ass though he has moments of acting very cuck. I suppose it was like a female writer. Bad ass regardless. I would like a Toxin movie and a Carnage appearance in the movies.

A part of my died watching Eric Foreman play Venom. I won't get my expectations up for this movie and expect the rest of me to die when this is released. Venom is my all time favorite comic book villain. I just have this gut feeling this will end bad. Especially without Marvel.